fry the hamburger in a skillet with Italian seasoning or fresh basil and oregano. add a few touches of garlic if desired. cook until no longer pink.
drain the grease and place the hamburger into a bowl. mix in tomato sauce. dont make it runny. you want this thick. mix and if it is thin or runny add tomato paste to thicken it. TASTE . if it needs more seasoning add more.
if using mushroom and onion slice the mushrooms and cut up the onion
fry the onion and mushroom in butter and some garlic or Italian seasoning. you can add both. dont over season. add mushroom first cook for about 10 minutes then add onion in. cook until they are translucent. you can also leave out the onion from frying if you like them more raw. dont forget you will be baking this soon
put the onion and mushroom mix in a bowl. if there is extra butter drain it
start boiling water in a pot to cook the noodles. when cooking these we do only a few at a time. dont add the whole box.
finished noodles. put them in cold water so they don't stick together.
in another bowl mix cottage cheese with egg and parmesan cheese. you want this kind of thick not runny
rinse spinach with water. cut off stems if you like and put them in a bowl
pre heat oven to 350
get a casserole dish . add a small amount of sauce to cover the bottom. you dont want the noodles to stick or burn to the bottom
layers : I start with noodles first. hamburger mix next. cottage cheese mix. onion and mushroom mix. spinach. mozzarella cheese. repeat until your dish is almost full.
the last layer should be noodles. then sauce on top of them. you can sprinkle basil , oregano or italian seasoning also. cover and bake for 30 to 50 minutes. get it hot.
pull it out. uncover it and put extra mozzarella cheese on top.
bake until the top cheese is melted
let it stand for at least 10 to 20 minutes. cut and serve. enjoy with a side salad or butter bread
